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Question:Participating in Hebrew Book Week, I observed an interesting phenomenon: A person walks by the book stand, sees the book Unlocking The Zohar, and his reaction shows that he was waiting for this moment all his life. He looks at the book, not daring take it in his hands, then he walks by, and circles back to return to it. It is obvious that there is an internal struggle.

Many people hesitate to take this book, feeling some fear as they face it, although subconsciously something tells them that the truth is hidden in it. They even walk away with pain that they did not take the book with them. How do you explain this fear?

Answer: This is one of the problems which we have to cope with and to help people overcome this fear. This is correction. Nobody is to blame, as it is said: “Go to the Craftsman who made me.”

We exist in the egoistic nature which has to feel denial, fear, rejection of what is supposed to bring us correction. This becomes dressed in some kind of fear of the book and the results of reading it, as if it can harm us. In essence, this is preparation for correction.

This fear arises not because people were told about the prohibition to touch the book. Nothing happens without a reason. On the contrary, our ego, our will to enjoy, prepared us in such a way that we keep a certain distance from corrections.

There is no choice: We will have to work on it, explain it, and put effort into it. But in any case, do not blame anybody. No one did this on purpose. The very nature of our ego, of our will to enjoy, sets us against everything associated with correction, forcing us to stay as far as possible from it.

It is worthwhile to study this behavior. A modern young man who is not worried about anything suddenly feels an inexplicable fear before The Zohar. This is nature. Even if he did not hear anything about this book, he discovers in himself some primeval, medieval prejudices, as if he is not a modern person any more.[46122] From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/22/2011, The Zohar